Tottenham v Leicester City: Pearson calls for positivity

Leicester City have been urged by manager Nigel Pearson to approach Saturday's Premier League clash with Tottenham positively.

Published

19 March 2015

Nigel Pearson knows his Leicester City side must be "near our best" when they face Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Saturday as they battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The sides meet for the third time this season at the weekend, with Tottenham looking to get their bid for European qualification back on track and Pearson's men bottom of the table needing a great escape in order to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

Winless in seven top flight-games, Leicester are seven points adrift of Sunderland - who sit just above the bottom three - going into their final 10 games.

Pearson has urged his side to take a positive approach as they attempt a repeat of their FA Cup fourth round win at Tottenham in January.

"It's not a case of going there and shutting up shop, its important we go there and try get something out of the game," said Pearson, who remains without Dean Hammond (calf) and Anthony Knockaert (personal issues).

"We have to make sure we remain in touch and that our destiny stays in our own hands.

"We have to make an impact but there is still a belief in our camp we can do something about it.

"I've got a strong belief in the players we have. We haven't been able to get into winning positions in tight games although there haven't been too many occasions where we've been out of the game.

"We played them in the FA Cup and came away with a win but the complexion will be different. We played them on Boxing Day and were very unfortunate to lose that game. It was probably one of our better performances of the season.

"They've very talented players and at home they can cause teams problems. I like to think we would be deemed to be respectable opposition, we have to be near our best."

Tottenham were swept aside by Manchester United in the first half last weekend, conceding all three goals in the first half, and the London club are now six points behind Louis van Gaal's fourth-placed side following that 3-0 defeat.

Like opposite number Pearson, Mauricio Pochettino is not reading too much into past meetings ahead of Saturday's clash.

"In the last few games, Leicester have played differently from when we played them in the FA Cup - they've changed the system," explained the Argentinean.

"We expect a different team playing in a different way. We expect a very tough game and an important game because we have nine games left and it's important to start to win points."

Pochettino will be hoping Ryan Mason (dead leg) is passed fit, while Harry Kane is set to lead the line against his former club two days after securing his first England call-up.